Manulife Asset Management (Thailand) Co. Ltd. and KASIKORNBANK Pcl. signed an agreement under which the latter will distribute pooled investment funds managed by the former. The deal is expected to strengthen Manulife Asset Management (Thailand)’s distribution network as KASIKORNBANK is a large commercial operation with an extensive customer base. KASIKORNBANK will distribute the funds through KBank Private Banking service to its high-net-worth clients.
Tor Indhavivadhana, Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Asset Management (Thailand), commented: “We are pleased to be one of only two asset management companies whose funds were selected for distribution by KASIKORNBANK’s private banking department. I believe that the key factor that led KASIKORNBANK to select Manulife Asset Management as a partner is our global investment footprint, which enables us to offer investors a range of investment strategies with the potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns.”
Manulife Asset Management (Thailand) is one of only a few asset management companies in Thailand that is part of a global network of on-the-ground investment professionals. Manulife Asset Management has investment operations in 17 countries and territories, including Canada and the US and 10 markets across Asia (including Thailand). These offices collectively host more than 300 equity, fixed income and asset allocation professionals.
Tor expanded on this: “We believe that this widespread global network of investment professionals gives us an information advantage in the market. Our investment decisions are informed by insights from proprietary research. This generally includes real-time, local-market information that has the potential to affect securities valuation but may not yet be widely known to the international investment community.”
This free flow of investment information is crucial where international investment is concerned. Tor explained: “We believe that international investments can be an important part of a balanced portfolio. With interest rates at or near historic lows in Thailand and across most major markets, it is important that investors take advantage of every opportunity to capture additional risk-adjusted returns. Exposure to global markets has the potential to enhance returns by providing access to securities with the potential to deliver higher-than-local-market returns. In addition, the diversification benefits of investing across geographies can be an effective way to help manage market-specific risk factors in a portfolio.”
